Woman Found Dead in Clarksville Residence Identified as Ft. Campbell Soldier

Katia Duenas Aguilar

A woman found deceased inside a Clarksville residence over the weekend has been identified as 23-year-old Katia Duenas-Aguilar of Mesquite, Texas who was a soldier stationed at Ft. Campbell located on the Kentucky–Tennessee border.

Private First Class Duenas-Aguilar was a member of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division.

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Tennessee Nurse Wanted for Negligent Homicide of Patient Arrested in Georgia

A Tennessee nurse who was wanted for negligent homicide in the death of a patient has been arrested in Tennessee after nearly nine months on the run, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). 

“After a referral from Adult Protective Services, TBI agents began investigating an allegation that in March 2022, a certified nurse aide who worked in a care facility in Clarksville failed to properly use a lift while attempting to move a patient,” TBI said in a news release. “As a result, that resident, Patricia Oliver, sustained a fall that caused her serious bodily injury, ultimately resulting in her death. The investigation identified Takesha Tucker as the nurse aide responsible for the incident.”

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LG Chem Announces $3.2 Billion Investment in Tennessee

A cathode manufacturer is set to make the largest foreign investment in Tennessee in the Volunteer State’s history, according to the Department of Economic and Community Development (TDECD).

“LG Chem’s anticipated investment of approximately $3.2 billion represents the single largest announced foreign direct investment in Tennessee’s history. The project is expected to create 860 new jobs in Montgomery County,” according to a TDECD press release. “The Clarksville facility will be the largest of its kind in the U.S. and is expected to produce roughly 120,000 tons of cathode material annually by 2027, which is enough to power batteries in 1.2 million electric vehicles with a range of 310 miles per charge.”

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Far-Left Congresswomen Rally Behind Tennessee Congressional Candidate Odessa Kelly

Odessa Kelly, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-7) for reelection, is touting the backing of three of Congress’s most left-wing members. 

Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7) and Cori Bush (D-MO-1) issued the endorsements on Monday. The congresswomen are members of what many observers call “The Squad,” a six-member coalition of far-left U.S. House members who advocate for such causes as police defunding, Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

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Anti-Gun Group to Host Protests in Six Tennessee Cities

An anti-gun group will host protests in five cities later this month, as part of a nationwide effort to push gun control in the wake of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

“What we are demanding from our state’s legislators should not be controversial, and will help to prevent preventable deaths in our communities,” said Carson Ferrara, a rising senior at Vanderbilt University and representative of March For Our Lives. “Last year, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a law that allows anyone to carry a loaded gun in public without a permit. He signed it at a weapons manufacturing plant.”

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Report: Clarksville Among Country’s Fastest-Growing Metro Areas

Clarksville, TN watertower

In a housing market booming across the country, Clarksville stands out.

A recent National Association of Realtors report shows that while the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin metro area is one of the largest growing markets in the country, it is Clarksville that ranks as the fifth-fastest growing housing market in the U.S. in terms of new housing permits.

Clarksville’s growth coincides with a jobs boom in Nashville, which is located less than an hour away, but it also has seen its own boom with the growth of small businesses and employers such as Hankook Tire.

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Austin Peay University Moves this Year’s Summer Classes Online

Officials at the Clarksville-based Austin Peay State University announced they will move all of this year’s face-to-face summer classes online, or to other forms of non-face-to-face instruction.

“We appreciate everyone’s hard work and flexibility as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic,” APSU President Dr. Alisa White wrote in an email to students, faculty and staff.

“In order to continue to do what we can to mitigate the spread of the virus and ‘flatten the curve,’ we have decided to move all face-to-face Summer 2020 classes to non-face-to-face instruction.”

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State House Subcommittee Allows Businesses Receiving Taxpayer Funds to Continue to Determine What Becomes Public Information by Claiming ‘Trade Secret’

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A bill that would have shed light on taxpayer funded payments by Tennessee state and local governments to private entities was killed at its first stop in the House Public Service & Employees Subcommittee. By an obvious voice vote on HB 0370, Chairman Bob Ramsey (R-Maryville) ruled that the Nays prevailed. In his introduction of the bill, Representative Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville) told the subcommittee members, “The intent of this bill is to require disclosure – to shine a light, if you will – on what our government entities are paying for goods and services.” Representative Daniel told the committee, “I would submit that transparency and accountability in government instills public trust in government.” “However, vague and broad exceptions to the (Tennessee) Public Records Act concerning what a private entity might deem to be trade secrets or confidential information can obscure information concerning benefits that are conveyed by government entities to these privately-owned recipients,” continued Daniel. To clarify, Daniel emphatically stated, “This bill would not act on or touch such information” that may actually be confidential and disclosed by the private entity in connection with receiving government payments, benefits or properties. “It is we,” Daniel fervently stated, emphasizing…

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Audit: Clarksville School System Employee Stole from Taxpayers

A maintenance employee with the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System stole money from the school system, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released Thursday. That employee, Shay Patterson, stole at least $1,750. Patterson used his school system-issued procurement card to make personal purchases. With that card he bought, among other things, materials for fuel, cigarettes, personal auto insurance, and a driver’s license renewal, according to the audit. “In addition, Patterson inappropriately used the school system’s government tax-exempt status on his personal purchase of remodeling supplies for a private project,” auditors wrote. “As noted, he was not charged the required taxes.” This is the first Comptroller audit to report alleged government theft in 2019. “The Comptroller’s Office initiated the investigation after officials with the school system reported questionable transactions related to a maintenance employee’s procurement card,” auditors said in a press release. In May of last year, Patterson paid $1,750 to the school system for personal charges on his school system procurement card, claiming a family member mistakenly used it. Patterson later admitted to investigators he used his procurement card for personal purchases without the knowledge or the authority of school officials. “Patterson stated that he used the procurement card as a…

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Tennessee Universities Desire More International Students

More and more international students attend universities in Tennessee. They take the knowledge and the skills they acquire here and apply them back on their home turf. Could that eventually put the United States at a competitive disadvantage? Bill Persinger, spokesman for Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, said he could not answer. “I won’t comment on the political aspects of it, but it’s important for our students to understand global competitiveness,” Persinger told The Tennessee Star Monday. “If we have someone who is a first-time college student who is on a Pell grant or otherwise then the only way they are able to learn other cultures is by bringing international students here. I think that is important for all our students and getting them the best education possible.” Nashville Public Radio reports Vanderbilt and Belmont have more than doubled their international freshman enrollment since 2009. Meanwhile, public universities like Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee State University also have more international students. This, the website, reported is deliberate. Persinger told The Star that Austin Peay has too few international students and it’s important to get more. “The university is a place to challenge your thought process and expose you to…

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Blackburn: Privatization Of Military A Bad Idea For Fort Campbell, Nation

Marsha Blackburn

Privatizing the military is a bad move, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn said in an op-ed Friday in the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle. Blackburn, a Republican who is running for Bob Corker’s U.S. Senate seat, represents the 7th Congressional District, which includes Montgomery County and Fort Campbell. The representative mentioned the death of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Taylor J. Galvin, who was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell. He died while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. She also mentioned the ongoing threats from nations like China and North Korea. “This is why the call to privatize the United States military is a non-starter. Our military commanders in the field are on the front line,” she wrote. “They work each day to execute their mission and the best way to support them is to be certain they have the tools and equipment they need — not take them away and hand everything over to a corporate company.” President Donald J. Trump’s budget proposal calls for a new round of military base closures in 2021, raising questions over the future of Forts Knox and Campbell, WDRB News reported. The plan, unveiled in May as part of the administration’s…

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We’re Not in Kansas Anymore: ‘Drag Queen Readings’ No Longer in Far Off Places, Now in Tennessee

Steve Gill

In the audio below, conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill of The Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville discussed his concern regarding the new trend to expose our young children with ‘drag queen readings’ and how it has slithered it’s way into Tennessee. He continued: You’ll find a story at TennesseeStar.com today about this move to start bringing in guys dressed as women, drag queens to read to young students aged three to eight in kindergarten through 1st and 2nd grade. Their bringing in these drag queens to read to children as part of their gender expansion. To try and get into the heads of these kids and teach them that there is no boy thing or no girl thing it’s all just people things. This is a big deal in apparently some of the big cities. We’ve got the story up TennesseeStar.com you can actually watch some of the video of these very effusive and dramatic drag queens reading to children. Now again if your reading to children you want them engaged you should be effusive and dramatic, it’s what you do with your own kids. The question is whether or…

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